New on DVD this week: July 25

From left, Johnny Depp, center, in "Transcendence"; "Heaven Is for Real"; Jude Law and Richard E. Grant in "Dom Hemingway"; and "Sabotage."

Available

TRANSCENDENCE (2014, Warner, PG-13, $29) — The directorial debut of "Inception" cinematographer Wally Pfister never, quite transcends its silly premise but it does keep re-booting itself with provocative ideas and unique characters (Rebecca Hall, Morgan Freeman, Paul Bettany, Kate Mara). Johnny Depp stars as a scientific genius who, as he's dying from radiation poisoning, figures out a way to upload his consciousness onto a super computer. Once online, he tries to take over the world. Stuffed with ambition but light on dramatic sense, "Transcendence" is a mess. But it's an entertaining mess. Extras: featurettes.

SABOTAGE (2014, Universal, R, $30) — After writing and directing the gritty police thriller "End of Watch," filmmaker David Ayer returns with a movie that's so preposterous it feels like an exercise in illogic. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as a DEA agent who, along with members of his team (Mireille Enos, Sam Worthington), steals $10 million in drug money. Just when they think they've gotten away with the robbery, the agents wind up being murdered one by one. Outlandish from the first scene to the last, "Sabotage" ranks as one of the year's most ridiculous action films. Extras: featurette and deleted scenes.

DOM HEMINGWAY (2014, Fox, R, $30) — From "The Matador" director Richard Shepard comes a funny and occasionally bruising black comedy about a snarling ex-con (Jude Law) hellbent on settling the score with his old mob boss (Demian Bichir). Not much happens in "Dom Hemingway" that you haven't seen before in other movies about unrepentant Cockney hooligans, but it is a jolt to see the usually suave Law get down and dirty in such delightfully twisted ways. Great supporting turns by Richard E. Grant and "Game of Thrones" star Emilia Clarke, too. Extras: featurettes and commentary by Shepard.

HEAVEN IS FOR REAL (2014, Sony, PG, $30) — After a 4-year-old pastor's son named Colton (Connor Corum) suffers a near-death experience, he informs his dad (Greg Kinnear) that he visited heaven and talked to Jesus. Colton's mom (Kelly Reilly) is skeptical, but the Rev. Todd takes his son's news literally to the point of alienating members of his flock (Margo Martindale, Thomas Haden Church) with his sermons. Even though "Heaven Is for Real" is far from subtle, director Randall Wallace deserves credit for depicting a family that sticks together no matter what life – or the afterlife — throws at them. Extras: featuretttes and deleted scenes.

BLUE RUIN (2014, Anchor Bay, R, $25) — Revenge thrillers are a dime a dozen these days, but "Blue Ruin" is the rare one to acknowledge what critic Mark Kermode called "the corrupting power of violence and the awful mechanics of killing." Dwight (Macon Blair) is a vagrant who leads a peaceful life until he opts to settle the score with the man who murdered his parents. What makes "Blue Ruin" so distinctive is how deftly writer/director Jeremy Saulnier juggles suspense with tiny humanizing touches. A look at a desperate man trapped in a world he didn't create, "Blue Ruin" hits the bulls-eye. Extras: featurettes, deleted scenes and commentary by Saulnier and Blair.

THE ANGRIEST MAN IN THE WORLD (2014, Lionsgate, R, $20) — The prospect of watching Robin Williams get in touch with his inner grouch sounds promising. But almost nothing works about this shrill, wearying comedy. Williams stars as a lawyer who is informed by his doctor (Mila Kunis) that he has 90 minutes to live. After leaving the hospital, he begins racing from one end of Brooklyn to the other in an attempt to reconnect with his wife (Melissa Leo), brother (Peter Dinklage) and estranged son (Hamish Linklater). It's a must to avoid. Extras: gag reel and featurette.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON (2014, IFC, unrated, $25) — What would you do if the son you raised for six years turned out not to be your own? That's the situation facing wealthy architect Ryota (Fukuyama Masaharu) and wife Midori (Ono Machiko) when they discover that their youngster was switched at birth with another baby. Directed by the great Japanese filmmaker Kore-eda Hirokazu ("Nobody Knows"), "Like Father" aims to be a study of parental love, but it strains credibility when Ryota and Midori agree to swap kids with the working-class couple raising their biological son. In the end, "Like Father" is too chilly and farfetched to be involving. Extras: none.

THE ESSENTIAL JACQUES DEMY (1960-1982, Criterion, unrated, $125) — Has there ever been a more romantic filmmaker than France's Jacques Demy? Nearly every one of his pictures, particularly the candy-colored musicals "Umbrellas of Cherbourg" and "Young Girls of Rochefort," sweep you away in tidal waves of sweet emotion. This wondrous boxed set, which boasts six films on Blu-ray and DVD, showcases those songfests as well as "Lola," a light-as-meringue look at a cabaret singer (Anouk Aimee) trying to choose among three men; "Donkey Skin," a shimming fairy tale starring Catherine Deneuve; the French Riviera-set "Bay of Angels" with Jeanne Moreau as a compulsive gambler; and the little-seen musical melodrama "Une Chambre En Ville," which is funny, sexy and dark. Extras: docs about Demy directed by wife Agnes Varda, featurettes and shorts.

VIOLENT SATURDAY (1955, Twilight Time, unrated, $30) — Richard Fleisher's heist movie – now on Blu-ray – is unlike any heist movie you've ever seen before. The focus is less on the robbery of a small-town bank in Bisbee, Ariz., than on the backstories of the townspeople (Victor Mature, Sylvia Sidney, Ernest Borgnine) who, in one way or another, are forced to stand up to the vicious thieves (Lee Marvin, J. Carroll Naish). The movie swirls together suds with sun-soaked noir. It's a combination that doesn't always work, but when it does, "Violent Saturday" is brutal fun. Extras: none.

MODERN ROMANCE (1981, Sony Choice, R, $20) — Albert Brooks is at his most Woody Allen-esque in this hilarious comedy about a self-absorbed film editor (Brooks) in the throes of an on-again, off-again relationship with Mary (Kathryn Harrold), an ambitious bank exec. Even though Brooks plays an obnoxious egomaniac, it's impossible not to feel for the guy as he attempts to woo Mary back with stuffed animals and love notes. Brooks wrote and directed only seven movies. They're all gems, but "Modern Romance" is the best of the bunch. Extras: none.

DONNIE BRASCO (1997, Mill Creek, R, $10) — It got whacked at the box office because it's light on mob action and heavy on the odd-couple friendship between aging hitman Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino) and undercover cop Donnie Brasco (Johnny Depp). That's not to say the film is without blood-letting or dark humor. (A lesson in how to use the word "fuhgeddaboudit" is a hoot.) But director Mike Newell is more interested in examining codes of masculinity than he is in watching bullets fly. Check out the new Blu-ray, and you'll discover a tense drama that's better than its reputation suggests. Extras: none.

SIX BY SONDHEIM (2014, Warner Archive, unrated, $25) — Originally broadcast on HBO, this superb documentary tells the story of Stephen Sondheim primarily through mini-biographies of six of his best songs, including "I'm Still Here" and "Send in the Clowns." Sondheim is remarkably candid during the interviews, and there's wall-to-wall music, including Dean Jones' ferocious interpretation of "Being Alive" and newly staged numbers featuring Audra McDonald, America Ferrera, Jarvis Cocker and "Glee's" Darren Criss. Extras: none.

WAHLBERGERS: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON (2014, Lionsgate, unrated, $20) — In this A&E reality series, Mark and Donnie Wahlberg return to Boston to help mom Alma and brother Paul launch a family-run burger joint. There's plenty of sibling rivalry as well as boisterous family dinners, bonding trips and the unearthing of embarrassing childhood memorabilia. Some of the best moments are supplied by the guest stars, including Donnie's gal pal Jenny McCarthy and Mark's friend Johnny Drama (who inspired the character played by Kevin Dillon on "Entourage"). Extras: featurettes.

CASE HISTORIES: SERIES TWO (2014, Acorn, unrated, $40) — "Harry Potter" baddie Jason Isaacs is back as the surprisingly soft-hearted tough guy Jackson Brodie, a former Edinburgh cop who now makes his living as a private detective. Since fatherhood is the theme of the season, Brodie's complicated relationship with his 12-year-old daughter is put under the microscope. At the same time, many of Brodie's most fascinating cases revolve around missing children and dodgy parents. Extras: featurettes.